"Although the seat of the bike is indeed a toilet, it is not for actual use," company spokesperson Kenji Fujita told Reuters. "The fuel is eco-friendly biogas, stored in the tanks on the back. It's a surprisingly nice way to travel."

Japan's best-known toilet maker (it also has a U.S. division) aims to provide products that can reduce CO2 emitted from plumbing equipment in the home by over 50 percent by 2017, according to its website.

While certainly unique, this is not TOTO's first toilet-related publicity stunt. The company also hosts yearly bathroom-themed poetry competitions. Winning wordsmiths, writing in the Senryu style, receive a high-tech toilet seat and get their poetry printed on limited edition toilet paper rolls sure to engage a captive audience.